Recommend me a TIG

[SteveH]

I didn't realise it was you who beat me to it!

Anyway I've finally bought one, I went for the 200a R-Tech AC-DC set. Seems great so far, but welding aluminium is hard! I can see me getting through a lot of gas practicing over the next few weeks!

I went through two large bottles of gas practicing on ally. It is hard to get right, but much easier if you practice on fresh sheet or tube and always give it a good clean. Working on old ally from our cars is a fair bit harder as the castings are crap and full of oxides.

I have the R-Tech foot peddle which is useful to reduce power when welding on ally. As the heat builds up in the piece you are welding you will require less amps to weld so you can knock back the power a bit. Easier said than done when you're mid-weld and something I still struggle with

Great bit of kit and many hours of fun with it so far. Essential if you're modding your own car...

[Zoig]

Any suggestions or experiences you have with the cheap machines? i'm also looking for something cheap to start with, for the beginning i can be perfectly happy with just DC until i can figure out exactly what i want from it. So far i have welded a bit with MIG and MMA, i did manage with both of them but as for the result and process itself i'm really liking the TIG. I'm thinking about starting to repair my b2q body so primarily i'd like to tackle that obstacle.
I understand that TIG welding is a slow process and i'm not in a hurry with that, but what i am thingking is with TIG i have more control over the weld and heat so the better result is fully in my hands. Opposed to cheap MIG in the same price range that had really jumpy wire feed that made my life really dificult.

So far i have thought of 2 decently cheap ones,
Stahlwerk WIG 200P, this one has all the basics to get me started, just add Ar bottle and regulator (maybe pedal). But it's only DC.

AC/DC TIG200P, It has AC and pedal included. would need AR bottle, regulator, filler rods, tungsten/wolfram elecrodes and a mask to the set.

Both of them have the basic features i think i might need once i get a bit more experience: pedal input, pulse and possibility to change those settings, smooth power out, pre and post weld gas flow.

[martinws]

I keep looking for an AC/DC for a decent price but am starting to sway towards getting a scratch start gun and attaching it to a MMA supply to give it a bash to get a feel for it. As far as iv been told, alot of pipe welders use this method and can get Xray spec welds with it. No pre or post gas flow or HF start but i watched a video online of a guy who made a foot switch to cut power so he got post gas flow.

[Error404]

Forget scratch start, its ****

My DC set might be for sale soon, great for learning on.
I'm going to upgrade to an AC/DC set with a pedal. Been using a massive old pro Lincoln machine recently and really miss the pedal when I go back on mine at home.

[martinws]

Forget scratch start, its ****

My DC set might be for sale soon, great for learning on.
I'm going to upgrade to an AC/DC set with a pedal. Been using a massive old pro Lincoln machine recently and really miss the pedal when I go back on mine at home.

Let me know when you are selling.

[Error404]

Probably be in a few weeks time, once the car is running. I'll drop you a line mate

[Zoig]

Scratch start is the first thing i excluded from my search, Lift start, HF start or both seem to be only reasonable options. Still, any reccomendations what to choose from the things listed above? Should i lean towards AC/DC unit in case i want to work on Al in the future, or is that DC good enough for a start. Any experiences with those machines would help also.

[caterpillar]

buy a deasent AC/DC... by fronius, kenppi, miller.....at least 220 amp, max for singel phase...then you have chance to have some support, and parts for the weldin mashine.. do NOT buy the cheap ones, spec if you want to weld alu...

[Zoig]

The brand welders, Kemppi, Miller etc are way out of my budget, that's why i'm looking at the cheaper ones.

[caterpillar]

buy a second hand ones...

[caterpillar]

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/ac-dc-tig-welder... some options.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-TIG-Arc-...-/171293808116 many use this, and are happy with this....

[caterpillar]

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/used-ac-dc-tig-welder i dont like the lincoln welder; the have a bad board, so they dont last, from new one...

[Error404]

Still, these are used professional machines, big ££££ for little use for the DIY man, and no warranty with the possibility of big repair bills maybe in 5 years or maybe tomorrow. The physical size of them is a problem, and most are 3 phase supply. So yes you are right these machines are much better but not very practical for DIY use, IMHO.

[Thuppu]

I have a cheapo chinese one, and have been good so far. Only restriction seems to be the welder guy himself.

[Error404]

Yeah I have that problem with mine